PRSA needs lessons in “News Release 101”

First, a confession. I paid my PRSA dues for 2008 after saying, and pretty vehemently, that I would not. I sent the check to New York yesterday for three reasons. First, I wanted to show support for a friend and colleague who is president of the local chapter this year. Second, I’m feeling guilty about abandoning my friends in both the Cleveland and Akron Area chapters, despite seeing little value in the national affiliation.

Finally, I was hoping this year’s PRSA leadership would bring new spark to a tired organization that’s been my professional home for 25 years. I ‘d be a great Cubs fan, wouldn’t I?

Does PRSA have a new vision? If so, you won’t find it in the society’s first news release of 2008, a release that announces Jeff Julin’s ascension to the chairmanship — but not much more.

Is there news here? Not really. Jeff’s selection as PRSA chair was rubber stamped by the Assembly back in November. But hey, it is his first day in office, and it’s Friday of a holiday week. Maybe we can steal a headline on a slow news day and make a little splash.

Nice try, but the news release typifies what Tom Foremski ranted about back in ’06 when he called on PR folks to stop using the tool altogether.

Some highlights from PRSA’s first release of 2008:

Julin brings to PRSA 30 years of public relations experience, with special expertise in stakeholder engagement and issues management.

I’m sure Jeff is an accomplished professional or he’d not have been anointed head of the PRSA family. But if we hope to communicate PR’s value to the rest of the world, we won’t do it with jargon like “stakeholder engagement” and “issues management.” To get your message across, use words Mom and Dad will understand.

As chair and CEO of PRSA, Julin will continue to advance PRSA’s role in creating a broad understanding of the vital role public relations plays in a rapidly changing world. People at all levels are more engaged than ever before in driving business, government and communities.

I’m looking for substance in this paragraph but finding none. It’s nice to know that Jeff plans to continue whatever it is PRSA has been doing. But that isn’t news, it’s fluff. And that second sentence is interpretation, not verifiable fact. Where’s the attribution?

“Implementation of the plan will maximize member value by enhancing our real and virtual communities, more aggressively profiling best practices and public relations research, and leveraging our leadership position in public relations ethics,” said Julin. He continued, “Going forward, I want to build on our great successes of the last few years and maximize PRSA’s strengths to become the touchstone of learning, guidance and recognition for every member of the profession.”

Ever heard of “Bullshit Bingo”? You could fill half a card with that paragraph alone. I nearly broke and ankle tripping over the buzz words. Sheesh.

An expert in issues management and stakeholder engagement, Julin is known for his ability to effectively work with groups that have conflicting interests. With roots in Colorado’s mining communities, Julin developed a natural affinity for engaging all interests in respectful, productive communications.

I know Jeff is a professional, but you can’t tell what he does for a living by reading this passage. No wonder so many C-suite execs don’t “get” PR. It’s time we start reading our own press releases — then rewriting them.

Another quote:

“Public relations professionals look forward to enormous opportunities to advance the role of the profession by creating rigorous yet respectful dialogue at all levels of society,” added Julin. “The influences of new media, increasing diversity and a 2008 presidential campaign will thrust the profession into the public spotlight in new ways. PRSA is ready to advocate for communications standards, practices and ethics that emphasize the full range of public relations to create respectful engagement that honors all perspectives.”

Among the first lessons I teach in a sophomore-level writing class is to favor the concrete over the abstract. Make it easy for your reader to grasp your message. Tell your story clearly and concisely. Use simple words, tangible examples, clear descriptions.

Julin is president of MGA Communications, a Denver-based firm consistently ranked as one of the region’s top communications firms and nationally regarded for award-winning work in stakeholder engagement, crisis communications and issues management. (Emphasis is mine.)

Another lesson of Media Writing 101 is to limit the use of adjectives and adverbs to words that illustrate dimension and intensity. Avoid fluffy adjectives like the ones highlighted above. They communicate nothing, and they alienate editors.

The news release should help an organization tell its story. But first you must have a story to tell. Then you must present it in straightforward fashion. Today’s release from PRSA accomplishes neither.

In my sophomore-level writing class, the release earns a “gentleman’s C,” but only if the student promises to rewrite it. Submit this release in my senior-level Media Relations class and I won’t be such a gentleman when assigning the grade.

After 60 years of hanging around the PR biz, you’d think PRSA would know how to do this stuff. And in case you’re wondering, I give this sort of candid feedback to my students all the time. And I’m certain they love me for it.

Update

If you’d like to send a message in support of my concerns, you can do so through the Facebook group: PRSA Need Professional PR Help — NOW! (Missing link. See update below.)

Update 2/26/2010: I have taken down the Facebook page. While I still have issues with PRSA and its leadership, the society has cleaned up its act when it comes to publicity. Most of the the news releases have a lot less fluff these days and are a lot easier to access. How much “news” those releases contain is another matter for another discussion. But news releases aren’t just for news media anymore, and that’s yet another discussion. Anyway, I thought I should explain the dead link.

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 4th, 2008 at 5:38 pm and is filed under PR Education, PRSA, Public Relations, Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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31 Responses to PRSA needs lessons in “News Release 101”

Well crafted, Mr. S. It’s ashame that the one group that should nail a release is the one that throws out one that is sub-par. This release should serve as an example to the membership of why media members don’t use our releases anymore. They’re crap. Write something that’s engaging, break away from AP style and capture the attention of the reader. If we don’t, we’ll never get another cheap, easy placement again, unless of course, you count the small town rags dying for content.

Maybe this is weird, but I like to read advertising/promotional copy with an analytical eye. It just makes me cringe as to how silly it is in general. The leads and titles are lame and condenscending in nature. The copy promises the key to perfection in an imperfect world: TRY THIS PRODUCT AND ALL YOUR PROBLEMS WILL BE OVER FOREVER!!! Give me a break 😦 It’s a good thing that a lot of people don’t even pay attention to advertising copy. What is the purpose of it, really? Is it meant to persuade or just raise awareness? Can’t you raise awareness without sounding like a pompous ass? I never fully understood that. I didn’t take any advertising classes. For the record, I’m glad that I never did. I hated my marketing class…that’s for sure. I don’t see why organizations spend a boatload of money on “fluff” tactics that most people never pay attention to. Write copy that you can backup with research and evidence. That’s my journalism background coming out in me, I guess. I apologize if I offend anyone, but I have strong opinions about meaningful messages as opposed to “plastic” ones that don’t sway me to do anything but laugh.

You’re absolutely right in analyzing Jeff’s prose. He also gave a lengthy interview to Bulldog Reporter that says nothing as far as I can see. Jeff will be a master of the over-arching generalization, putting positive-sounding words and phrases together in an almost endless string, and avoiding anything concrete. His firm is not ranked by me or anyone (we demande top pages of income tax returns, W-3s, etc.) so he has no basis for claiming size about his PR firm.

This is PR doubletalk. Jeff lost a lot of ground with me when he replaced what should have been the “Town Hall” of the Society’s conference in Philadelphia with 35 minutes of listings of suggestions for the strategic plan by Assembly delegates. He showed slides of these but now won’t release the whole list of about 300.
He and the board also won’t release the transcripts of the past three Assemblies, nor the vote on compressing ten districts into five. It was about 50-50 and we all want to know who sided with the board and who didn’t. Only the board knows this.
The big question, with the re-write of the bylaws scheduled, is whether Delaware laws or N.Y. State laws will be followed. Delaware allows members or their elected delegates to meet and pass bylaws electronically. N.Y. does not. Where does Jeff stand on this?
He and the board, as you know, do not talk to me or answer any of my questions.
Where is his stand on decoupling the board from APR, returning democracy to the Society after 35 years? We should all know the compensation package of Pres. Bill Murray but that, too, is hidden.
The PR Society is thoroughly undemocratic and unresponsive to members’ demands for documents they have a right to.

Bill, this is one of your many great posts that I will read over and over again. You nailed it. Your words are a lesson to all of us on so many levels — as practitioners, as PRSA members, as educators in PR, as students of PR, and on and on.

I am a zealot for professional association membership, but I have never warmed up to PRSA. Your post serves to illustrate why.

Les: I’ve spent a quarter century in PRSA and had my ups and downs with the group. I was twice a chapter president and spent more than 10 years serving on chapter boards. But the benefits I got from PRSA were entirely at the local level — even though I attended my share of national conferences. For the past 10 years, I’ve felt the national organization of PRSA to be out of touch with member needs. On the other hand, maybe I’ve just outgrown PRSA. Is that code for, “I’m too old for this stuff”?

You’ll be happy to hear that I am, for the first time, a member of IABC and looking forward to working the the group here in NE Ohio.

Jack: Thanks for dropping in with your perspective. Your criticisms of PRSA are always blunt, but as you point out, no one in New York is listening to you. And I doubt they’re listening to me, either.

Jason: You point to the primary danger of PR “professionals” who produce such garbage — it desensitizes the media and turns them away from our messages. I’ll disagree with you on AP Style. If you want to engage the MSM with your messages, you need to speak their language, and that language is AP Style. But I think your real point is that we need to be a lot more imaginative in how we write and pitch stories. No argument there.

Bill, I joined IABC in 1973, and it remains the longest-held continuous membership of my career. I have been an on-and-off PRSA member over the years, but I have been a steady member PRSA for the past 4 years.

I love IABC for a zillion reasons, both professional and personal. But it is by no means perfect either. In fact, I was compelled to fire off a comment today to IABC President Julie Freeman’s ill-advised post in IABC Cafe blog praising a speech by a candidate for U.S. president. This from the senior ranking staffer at an INTERNATIONAL communication professional association!! I think it is inappropriate to be so-America-centric given the “I” in IABC.

I also agree with you about the local chapter benefits. For many of us, the local chapter IS THE ASSN.

But I caution you on even thinking that you are too old for this or that you have out-grown professional association membership. When I was chairman of IABC, then (as now) there was a huge push to retain senior level members. I used to tell senior level communicators who felt they had outgrown IABC to stick around and teach us — give less-senior members the benefit of your wisdom and experience. Stay for us, if you can’t see staying a member for yourself. Stay and give back, for we need you.

I now say that to you. Yours is a clear voice of reason if only PRSA would listen. You, Jack, and I must keep speaking up. Let’s hope IABC has the cajones to publish my comments to the president’s faux pas post on U.S. presidential politics. What you say about the PRSA in need of PR is so startlingly true that you must keep saying it.

I just joined PRSA about a month ago — solely so that I could be a member of the local chapter in Richmond, Va., not because I have any illusions that PRSA at the national level has it together any more than IABC at the international level. The failure of both associations, it seems to me, is that they have lost sight of the fact that the local chapters truly are their lifeblood.

As for the news release — what a shame. I agree with Les that you nailed it. I’ll probably use it as an example of what NOT to do when I teach my Introduction to PR class this summer at VCU.

Robert: I fully intend to use that news release as a bad example in my classes this semester. The students will be horrified, given that we have a strong PRSSA chapter that has won a National Teahan Award in each of the past three years (plug). Perhaps some positive change will come of it all.

Les and Robert: I don’t question the value of professional associations a bit, just the lack of value that so many of the national organizations deliver. When I lived in Buffalo, we had a local association called Professional Communicators of Western New York. At one time, its membership was larger than the PRSA or the IABC chapters there, but it didn’t have the prestige that came with belonging to a national or international group and programs tended to target junior-level practitioners and folks from nonprofits that couldn’t afford dues for national organizations.

In today’s Web 2.0 world, I’m thinking that local groups of this sort could become viable again and could be easily linked into a confederation using proprietary social networks. That way, the bulk of the dues money would remains at home instead of paying rent on a high-priced New York office with equally high-priced staff. Just thinkin’ out loud, and urging PRSA to drive more value down to the chapter level.

I was going to comment earlier, but I ended up driving the airport shuttle most of the day.

As usual, you have provided a very thoughtful and insightful analysis of a situation that faces not only PRSA but the public relations field in general. I won’t revisit the points you made — or the ones made by Jack O’Dwyer and Les Potter. For the record, I was a member of the Akron Chapter of IABC in the early 1970s (ending my membership a few years later for some reason I can’t remember now) and have been a member of PRSA since 1986 or so. I share the belief that PRSA is valuable locally — but pretty much worthless nationally.

Anyway, I wanted to add a point or two. PRSA has a public relations staff: Janet Troy (VP-Public Relations), Joseph DeRupo (Associate Director PR) and Diane Gomez (Manager, PR). That makes the Julin announcement even more pathetic. BFGoodrich, a Fortune 500 company, didn’t have a PR staff near as large during my 29-year career there; Goodrich was a much larger organization and attracted more media attention than PRSA. Any idea what those PR professionals are doing? Maybe Jack O’Dwyer knows.

Also, apparently Julin sent a letter to PRSA members on Jan. 3. I say apparently because I don’t recall receiving it — but to be honest, I delete most of the e-mails I receive from PRSA these days. After the fifth or sixth daily e-mail about a seminar, webinar, etc. it gets to be kind of a burden. Just my opinion.

But, here’s what Julin, in part, says in the letter:

“As I take on my new role, I see a profession that is changing dramatically — not only during the last 60 years, but 60 months and even 60 days. PRSA has reached a milestone at the same time the profession is approaching a watershed. Advancing technologies, new social media outlets, increasing diversity and Internet-driven public discourse are changing the landscape and enhancing the opportunities.”

Reached a milestone at the same time the profession is approaching a watershed. Say what? I guess that’s good, whatever it means.

But here’s the rub. I guess that from a tactical point of view the profession is changing rapidly. Although I’m not convinced of that as yet. Yet I believe — and I’ve said this on my blog and in my classes at Kent State many times — that the foundation of public relations is character, honest communication, professionalism, building relationships and ethics. If those points are being overshadowed by Web 2.0 and social media, well then good luck to all of us. In my opinion, those points about character, professional and ethics are the ones PRSA should be focused on in press releases and letters. If there was a real emphasis on character, professionalism and ethics — maybe that would enhance the reputation of the PR profession. I don’t expect that understanding Web 2.0 will. (But I’m a dinosaur with a laptop,)

I have something else to say on this subject of news releases that isn’t directly related to PRSA. I’m going to write about that tomorrow on my blog — http://www.prontherun.wordpress.com — (shameless self-promotion; delete if you want) if the Steelers score enough points early tonight so I don’t have to stay up beyond 10 p.m.

Rob

And a last point. Is it just me or is the type font on WordPress one point condensed? I am a terrible typist, with declining eyesight. All typos and other errors in these posts are my responsibility, but gee, does this need to be the equivalent of an eye exam?

I have nothing to add to this insightful comment but these two items. One, go to your “View” menu and click on “type size” then “increase.” I, too, have eyes that don’t mesh with the WordPress default. My second comment: Go Steelers! As I write this, our hometown favs are on their first drive — and rolling.

PRSA represents a bygone era when the business of public relations was seeking form and credibility. Yet, today’s global demands of communications if more strategic, more demanding and more diverse. PRSA suggests a style limited to doggedly writing and distributing old-fashioned press releases which today is the least effective tactic in the communications arsenal. I generally avoid PRSA meetings because most of them are attended by junior level people who are looking for better jobs and who learned the profession in some college where the instructor’s awareness of communications today is limited by recalling the good old days when anyone read a press release.

PRSA needs a credibility makeover because today, it has none in my book.

That’s interesting, David. But I don’t know that I agree that PRSA sugggests an “old style” of PR akin to the days of the press agent (my words, not yours). Perhaps this one news release does, but it’s not the complete picture.

It was at PRSA conferences in the 1980s that I refined my model of PR practice to one that reflected a “go direct” approach when dealing with key constituencies. I pretty much stopped working with mainstream media except when my clients had real and meaningful news that called for broad distribution — and that was seldom. I learned this approach from the visionaries who were leaders in PRSA at the time, and I still invoke their names.

I don’t, for a moment, believe that PRSA’s volunteer leaders embrace an old style of PR practice. Quite the opposite. But they do seem to embrace an old style of management, and it’s resulting in an alienation of many members. And lets face it, the PR staff New York needs a primer course in media relations. That news release was nothing short of pathetic.

You are correct, I think, in saying that PRSA has credibility problems within the profession. And that can’t be fixed with news releases. PRSA must focus on delivering more value to members. I honestly don’t think the national organization is terribly relevant right now, and that may well lead to the formation of more local PR groups that focus on local members and their needs. We can do national connections via online social networks, and that will come. Were I running a PRSA chapter today, I’d have a serious discussion about secession from the national organization. I suppose that’s heresy coming from a member of the College of Fellows, but there it is.

Good post. i found you on Facebook. I’m a big follower of David Meerman Scott and webinknow.com, his blog.

His book, The New Rules of PR and Marketing, was transformational for me, a long time traditional marketing executive.

– Forget the press release
– Write for the end consumer, not the reporter
– Release “news releases” all the time (using tools like prweb.com)
– Write clearly
– Include links in your release to ensure direct tracking and action by the reader

My learning, in the past 12 months, is that you need to do BOTH traditional outreach to the MSM (Times, Wapo, etc..) as well as extreme blogging of your own and blogger “outreach” throughout the internet.

Bottom line, however, is that you must have a story to tell. No story, who cares.

It’s probably why I don’t belong to the PRIA, the Australian version of the PRSA (i.e., too much fluff). I wrote about this type of rubbish on 29 December, highlighting mining giant BHP’s PR response to a situation near Sydney. It drew a response from the blog Literal Mayhem, which dedicates itself to ridding the world of meaningless drivel. As a well-known Aussie politician once said: “Maintain the rage.” (Well, he was well known here).

When I read the incredible wisdom represented here in this post and its subsequent comments, it makes me wonder: What the heck is PRSA talking about right now on its blogs, etc.? Seems to me the wisdom, experience, and solid suggestions for excellent PR management are right here.

Don’t worry too much about how PRSA will respond to this little flap its blogs, because the society has no blogs — at least none that I can find on the website, and I go there often. Jack O’Dwyer has criticized PRSA for this closed management style (and lack of blogs) on many occasions. PRSA’s response is to ignore Jack’s phone calls, as he’s a bit of an agitator, you know. For those who may not know him, Jack has published one of the leading newsletters on public relations for a very long time, and has played a watchdog role when it comes to PRSA. Jack has gotten pretty snarky about PRSA in recent years, but I can’t say as I blame him.

I don’t expect anyone from PRSA to join this discussion — though I would think by tomorrow someone in New York will have picked up on it via Google Alert. But since PRSA doesn’t use blogs, maybe it doesn’t monitor them, either. I would welcome some official input from the society. The door is always open here.

PRSA may not have blogs to invite member input, but it does offer a slew of tele-seminars on a range of topics. On 1/22/08 it offers one titled, “Meet the Media: The Future of the Press Release.” Sadly, the session features four vendors who sell news release distribution services. While I can see some value in such a session, I don’t know that I’d pay $150 ($250 for nonmembers) to hear their pitches.

I have been in PR now for 17 years, working in NYC, and have worked agency side, in-house, and as an independent. I have never belonged to PRSA, nor wanted to. There never seemed to be much “value add.” I joined one if the top-tier boutiques in the city — Adams & Rinehart — in 1990, when college level programs had not yet been invented. We had mandatory inhouse training by the managing directors and learned in the trenches from some of the best in the business. PRSA never seemed to be able to hold a candle to their hands-on, real-world wisdom. PRSA programs always looked as fluffy as the press release you quote in your post. It has never been staffed by top-rate practitioners… so how can they develop the profession if they don’t know how to practice themselves???

And there are so many others like me… around my age… with my level of experience, who have never been PRSA members and probably never will be. Perhaps the PR profession would be in better shape these days if a whole generation of us had grown up in a vibrant, collegial organization.

It’s sad in a way because our profession desperately needs both a ballast and a rudder. We are in many ways adrift — it’s what my own blog focuses on. PRSA could have played that role… if only….

Hey, at least the press release webinar mentions the social media release–that’s a start, right?

As someone who just got re-engaged at the local level (the Boston chapter asked me to help with their programming), I’m witholding judgment for a while. I’ve seen great progress at the local level, with a chapter blog and programs that dive into new technologies and their implications.

But I agree that at the national level, it seems to be the same old same old. Some would argue that our profession is in crisis, and needs to completely rethink itself for the 21st century. If that’s the case, then the PRSA doesn’t seem to be the organization to do it.

Taking the Fall 2007 Strategist as an example, which focused on the evolution and future of PR, there was exactly one mention of email, and no mentions of social media, blogs or PR-specific technology. The article on the future of PR focused on globalization, but not on the fall of the press release (last stat I read was something like 7% of reporters/editors read releases off the wires), the ethics of social media, the implications of social networking, etc.

Of course, I speak with plenty of excellent PR practitioners who still don’t have a clue about these things–people for whom the press release still works. And I think PRSA leadership is made up largely of these folks. But that can change.

Shame on them for using corpspeak and writing a crappy press release, for sure. But just like in politics, we have the power to make a change–if we don’t like what we see, we can change it. Blogging about it is important. But so is getting involved in your local chapter and make sure they’re with it. Then get involved in elections and vote in more forward thinkers to regional and national leadership positions.

I’ll let folks know how things go as I re-engage myself after many years away. Mark McClennan, last year’s chapter president (and founder of its blog – http://prsaboston.blogspot.com/), was the guy who got me re-engaged initially and even a little enthusaistic about the group. He was willing and able to get young folks involved, and I commend him for it. And the current chapter president is doing an equally good job at soliciting input from a wider range of people. But that’s just one chapter…

Well, it sounds like a speech from a politician. With the exception of Bush, he doesn’t understand big words either. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I guess it makes Julin feel smart by using the “abstract.” He’s able to confuse the majority with his jargon. Another topic well covered. Written clearly, concisely, and in a straightforward fashion.
Thanks for taking the time to explain Julin’s article.

[…] No Comments I wrote last week about the Public Relations Society of America. Bill Sledzik in his ToughSledding blog started the discussion about a news release concerning Jeff Julin, the newly named chair of […]

Goodness, you weren’t kidding when you said that PRSA needs a lesson in “News release 101!” As I read the excerpts, I kept thinking we’d never get away with writing a media release like that in class! It reminded me of some of the bull**** that is often written for internal corporate publications. It’s the same old thing you hear every year, just add a new name and a new photo. Boring!

On a separate note: I thought you’d be psyched to know that I discovered this blog post after googling “media relations and ethics.” Yours was the #3 post.

As I told Rich in the previous comment, media relations is not a primary interest of mine. Ethics is, and I’m pleased that anything I write comes up when “ethics” is the search term — even if it is just the result of some silly Google algorithm. I also know the folks at PRSA’s HQ have read this post, and even if they don’t comment on it, I’m certain they’ll be way more careful to put real news in their releases from this point forward. What we all have to understand is that PR isn’t about communication, but about action and interaction. Without those component, we’re just a bunch of words.